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Hey guys, it’s me.

Time to make a splash. I want y’all’s opinions on allegory vs symbolism.

Here’s what happened recently. I noticed a while ago that Tolkien and Sanderson had something in common. They both took years to develop their masterpieces before they even sat down to write them. So two days ago I decided to actually start on what I’ve been thinking of doing for some time. I’m planning to spend a decade or more developing a fantasy world for a series I’ll write in the future.

The first thing that popped into my mind very strongly is that I want this series to adhere to the mythic tradition of fantasy. In other words, slightly un-realistic but grand worlds, heroic journeys, legendary obstacles, soft magic, strange wise or mysterious strangers, etc. Tolkienesque, basically.

Now, I really only have a very basic grasp on what I want to write as of yet, but I found myself leaning toward a less allegorical world. I want a worldlier, grimer sort of setting, honestly and I also have this sense that the plot I’m going to concoct isn’t going to lean toward allegory, at least not in the forefront in any way.

This poses a problem though since I definitely want to engrain my world with a strong Christian worldview. The obvious alternative is symbolism.

For those of you less familiar with these distinctions, Tolkien wrote primarily symbolism, and Lewis better represents the allegorical end of the spectrum. Symbolism represents aspects of Christianity without trying to mimic specific events. The ring and its destruction are great examples.

I love symbolism, but my question is how much to rely on it. I’ve always been of the opinion that Tolkien relied just a little too much on symbolism. The one thing that stands out to me is that there is no true form of worship in his world and no salvation. I’ve always felt that’s something that shouldn’t have been left out entirely. Still, I may be wrong. I don’t believe every novel has to include the gospel, so is it okay for a fantasy world to have no gospel (if its purpose is to communicate symbolic truths)? I’m skeptical, but open and curious.

Basically, my goal is to be as little allegorical as possible while still providing the right worldview context. I mean, I don’t want moral relativism or confusion over the truth. I also don’t want to hold back with a half answer when I could provide a full answer. Hopefully that makes sense.

Here’s what I’m thinking so far. I’ll have a creation and a fall and God will be theistic not deistic. I’ll probably consider this an “old testament” era story, as in there is no Messiah yet, but there is still a “true form of worship”. I’ll probably have the true worshipers be rare, and important but not common in the story. I may have one prophet character. I’m thinking of having religion slowly take on a more important role throughout the series. I may even have the messiah character come at the very end of the last book, though that is not decided.

SO! With all that long explanation, how much allegory do you think a fantasy world needs and how much can it rely on just symbolism?

Also, any thoughts you have about symbolism would be great.

@karthmin @kate @ethryndal @ohter-people Who else do I tag?